


Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

by PansyChubb



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: CritRole Bang, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 18:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8633977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PansyChubb/pseuds/PansyChubb
Summary: “You know,” Percy huffed, grabbing Trinket’s fur for balance as the bear swung his head into him for the third time, “Trinket makes an excellent chaperone.”“He does, doesn’t he?” Vex cooed, patting Trinket’s rump as the bear walked between them on the narrow forest path. “Do you think we need one, darling?” She winked.[Written for the 2016 Critical Role Reverse Bang.]





	

**Author's Note:**

> _Set somewhere between the end of episode 72 and the beginning of episode 74; general spoilers up to that point._
> 
> Written for the 2016 Critical Role Reverse Bang to accompany the wonderful artwork of [moth](http://mothband.tumblr.com/):
> 
> Crossposted on Tumblr [here](http://pansychubb.tumblr.com/post/153568717772/cold-hands-warm-hearts-artist-mothband-author).

“Percy!”

 

Percy emerged from the darkness of Castle Whitestone’s halls, squinting in the bright light of the courtyard. Vex waved to him from across the way as she stepped over the frozen flagstones, Trinket lumbering at her side.

 

“Vex,” he said, pleasant surprise in his voice. He tugged his gloves firmly into place as the cold air enveloped him. “Off to town? I was just about to head there myself.”

 

Vex shook her head. “Afraid not. I’m taking Trinket out for a walk.” She ran a hand through the bear’s fur and got a happy snuffle in return. “He’s been cooped up for such a long time - haven’t you, darling?” Trinket let out a mournful noise and swung his head against her legs.

 

Percy squinted again, looking up at the gray sky. “Well, it’s a nice day for it. Chilly, but we might get some sun, if we’re lucky. Ah, but,” he hesitated as Vex and Trinket paused in front of him, “if - if you were planning to go to the _woods_ …”

 

“I know, darling,” Vex said, eyes on Trinket as she gave the bear a good ear scratch. “We won’t go far.” She met his eyes and smiled with only a hint of melancholy. “And we’ll be careful.”

 

Percy sighed and mirrored her expression. “I suppose it’s been a bit … stuffy around here lately.”

 

Vex’s smile turned wry. “A bit.” She cocked her head. “Would you care to join us?”

 

Percy inhaled and opened his mouth to speak, pausing as the hundred reasons for refusal fought for control of his tongue.

 

Vex chuckled and raised a hand. “And I just mean for a walk - that’s all.” She averted her eyes, focusing on Trinket once more instead. “I know you said we’d talk later … about _things_ … but …” She shrugged. “Our lives are kind of crazy right now, aren’t they?”

 

Percy let a smile tug at his lips. “A bit.”

 

“A bit,” Vex echoed, amused. “ _Slightly._ ”

 

“Ever so slightly.”

 

“Just a smidge.”

 

“Indeed,” Percy conceded, blushing as Vex giggled at his inability to keep up with her teasing.

 

“So!” she relented. “Just a walk. _Nooo_ pressure. You, and me, and Trinket …” She trailed off, waiting for his answer.

 

Percy took a breath, careful to fully form the words before speaking. “Thank you, Lady Vex’ahlia. I would be delighted to keep you and Trinket company on your walk.”

 

Vex laughed at his formality, and it made something warm bloom in Percy’s chest.

 

“Well then, Lord de Rolo,” she said with a flourish, “shall we?”

 

\---

 

“You know,” Percy huffed, grabbing Trinket’s fur for balance as the bear swung his head into him for the third time, “Trinket makes an _excellent_ chaperone.”

 

“He does, doesn’t he?” Vex cooed, patting Trinket’s rump as the bear walked between them on the narrow forest path. “Do you think we need one, darling?” She winked.

 

“You know what I meant,” Percy said, and Vex enjoyed his fond exasperation.

 

She _hmm_ -ed noncommittally. “All right Trinket,” she said, turning her pat into a slap. “Off you go! Get some exercise!”

 

Trinket made a low noise and picked up his pace, nudging Percy’s legs one more time before galumphing off down the path in front of them.

 

They followed in amiable silence, interrupted only by the crunch of their footsteps on frosted leaves. Vex breathed in and out, watching her breath form little clouds, and glanced sideways to see Percy doing the same.

 

“Tell me something happy,” she said suddenly. Percy turned toward her, brow furrowed. “Let’s talk about good things,” she clarified, heat rising in her cheeks as she remembered the last conversation they’d had in the woods (and how it had ended). “Nothing heavy. Just … ” She searched for words.

 

“Something happy?” Percy mused, hands in his pockets. He raised his chin in contemplation.

 

“Your tinkering,” Vex grasped. “Working on anything interesting?”

 

“Well, yes. Several things, actually.” His expression grew slightly darker.

 

“I don’t mean weapons,” Vex blurted. “Or - or anything related to our current _mission_.” She swallowed and forged on. “Is there anything for - for after? Or from before?”

 

She forced herself to stop, letting the words hang in the air, imagining she could see the wheels in Percy’s brain turning. After a moment, he smiled, and the knot in Vex’s chest loosened.

 

“Funny that you mention it,” he said, laughter undercurrent to his words. “Cassandra brought me a stash of my old notes just yesterday. From when we were children.”

 

“Really?” Vex grinned. “And what was young Lord Percival working on?”

 

“Oh, he had many fantastical ideas,” Percy said loftily. “For instance - a soup blower.”

 

“Soup blower?”

 

“Yes - a contraption designed to cool one’s soup through a complex series of fans that blow on the spoon before it reaches the child’s mouth.” Percy smirked at her raised eyebrow. “That one may have come from a young boy who was tired of being forced to help his younger siblings at family dinners.”

 

Vex laughed. “Did you actually build it?”

 

“No - fortunately or unfortunately, that one never got past the drawing stage. I did, however, go through a phase where I set a new booby trap in my room at least once a week.”

 

“Oh my goodness! Whatever for??”

 

“Adolescent paranoia,” Percy shrugged. “I thought Julius was trying to steal my sketches. And the twins had just reached an age where they thought it was funny to sneak into places where they were not supposed to be. Hence, booby traps.”

 

“Well. Did it work?”

 

“Goodness no. I got such a scolding when one of the servants fell over my trip wire and broke his nose.”

 

“Oh no,” Vex tried to lament, unable to keep from laughing. “Is that why you stopped?”

 

“Sadly, no. The final straw came when my mother - ah,” Percy paused, raising a hand to adjust his glasses, “well, let’s just say that weeks-old porridge is very hard to scrub out of an evening gown.”

 

Vex threw back her head and laughed, the sound ringing through the woods as she imagined the scenario. “Oh, Percy,” she chuckled.

 

Whatever more she’d been about to say evaporated on her tongue as she turned and saw his expression - pleasure mixed with desperation and a hint of desire that bordered on hunger. She stopped breathing, vaguely aware that they’d come to a standstill. His gaze flicked down to her mouth and her heart jumped as he began to lean in.

 

A snuffling and pounding of paws broke the spell; they both jerked apart, like teenagers caught by their parents. Trinket broke out of the trees, paused at Vex’s side, snorted as if in greeting, and then veered off into the woods again.

 

Vex couldn’t help but laugh. “Trinket!” she called, with only a hint of whining.

 

Percy smiled and adjusted his glasses. “Like I said: a very good chaperone.”

 

“Quite.”

 

“Better than your brother, anyway.”

 

“Oh, definitely.”

 

They continued walking, same as before, if with slightly heightened heartbeats.

 

Vex eventually broke the silence. “So was there anything else? Any other youthful inventions I should be aware of?”

 

“There _was_ one that caught my eye; I’d completely forgotten about it until I saw my old sketches. I began developing it shortly before - well.” He paused and Vex schooled her face into a neutral expression. “I never got to the testing phase, I’m afraid.”

 

“What was it?”

 

“Pneumatic tubes,” he said proudly.

 

Vex raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” she said when he failed to explain further.

 

“Ah, yes - you know how some rooms in Whitestone have bells in them? That are connected to the kitchen and other servants’ areas?” Vex nodded. “Well, my idea was to replace them with tubes of pressurized air. I had a whole system worked out that would use the pressure differentials of the hot air from the kitchens with the cold air from outside. Then, instead of ringing a bell and having to guess what was needed, one could send paper notes for clearer communication. Much more efficient all around, really. I remember now I was planning a whole presentation for my father on why he should let me tear up all the walls to let me install it.”

 

It was an intriguing idea, to be sure, but even more intriguing was the light in Percy’s eyes, the passion in his voice, and the way he gestured all around himself in his excitement. And when he turned to her, grinning, cheeks flushed, there was a brief moment where Vex thought she would need Trinket to show up and play chaperone again.

 

“Cassandra would probably let me do it now,” Percy continued, brain wrapped up in the possibilities. “If I frame it as being about increased safety and efficiency …”

 

“That’s wonderful,” Vex breathed, then scrambled to continue when Percy gave her a curious look. “Wonderful that she saved all your drawings, I mean.”

 

“Oh, no,” Percy said, ducking his head. “Cassandra didn’t save them - she found them. It was - it was my mother.” His voice became soft. “Apparently, she saved a variety of her children’s creations. Mementos, as it were.”

 

“Oh,” Vex said, voice equally soft. “That … that’s still wonderful, darling.” Percy smiled, and she pressed her luck. “Will you tell me about her?”

 

Percy inhaled and exhaled. “No,” he said. “Not yet.” He turned to her. “It’s your turn - _you_ tell _me_ something happy.”

 

Vex made a noise of frustration, eliciting a smug look from Percy. “Fine then. Fair’s fair. Do you want to hear about the time I got Vax lost in the woods and let him wander in circles for hours until he apologized for shaving Trinket’s ears?”

 

“Oh, I do, I certainly do - but as enticing as that sounds, I was actually hoping to - to stay on a similar topic, and perhaps - ” - he paused, weighing his words - “ - perhaps hear something about _your_ mother?”

 

“Oh,” Vex said lightly, “of course. Of course.”

 

“You … don’t have to - ”

 

“No, it’s fine, darling. I just … haven’t talked about her for a long time, that’s all.” Vex squared her shoulders and put a smile on. “Something happy, yes? Let’s see … did you know she was the one who taught Vax and me Elvish?”

 

Percy shook his head. “I did not.”

 

“She did. Mostly taught herself, too. She didn’t have to, mind you - when Vax and I were born, it was pretty clear that my father wanted nothing to do with us, and the village where we grew up didn’t have a need for any other languages. But she still insisted that we learn.”

 

“She wanted you to be connected to your heritage,” Percy guessed.

 

“I suppose.” Vex cast her gaze out at the woods around them. “Once, Vax and I got in a fight at the village school. It was all human children, and some bullies decided to pick on me about my pointed ears. Vax stepped in to defend me and ended up with a bloody nose.”

 

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

 

“He cried a lot about it.”

 

“That surprises me even less.”

 

Vex laughed. “Anyway, when we got home, Mother gave us a stern talking to.”

 

“Because you were bullied??”

 

“Oh, no - because I repaid them for Vax’s bloody nose with a couple of black eyes and bruised shinbones.”

 

“I continue to be utterly unsurprised.”

 

Vex grinned. “After Mother scolded us, she said something that I’ve never forgotten - even if I’ve sometimes found myself struggling to live by it.” Vex took a breath. “She said, ‘Never be ashamed of who you are or where you’ve come from. Use it as a building block to take you where you want to go.’”

 

They were silent for a moment. “Wise words,” Percy offered. “She sounds like she knew what she was talking about.”

 

“I think … I think she had a hard life. Even before … ” Vex sighed with a shrug. “I don’t know. My father took us away before we were old enough to understand things like that. I - I do wish I’d gotten to know her, you know? As an adult?” Without warning, hot tears sprang to her eyes, blurring her vision. “There’s just a lot of things I would have asked her.”

 

Vex’s voice cracked, and she made a noise of frustration as she swiped at her eyes. She shook her head, not quite trusting herself to speak, and took a deep breath.

 

Calloused fingers took her hand, squeezing gently. Startled, she looked down at the space between them, following their joined hands up to Percy’s slightly nervous face.

 

“I didn’t mean,” he started, “I didn’t think, ah, when I … asked about …”

 

She smiled and squeezed his hand back. “No, darling, that’s all right. I’m sorry.” She took another breath. “I was the one who said we shouldn’t talk about anything serious, after all.” She sniffed, then looked down to their hands again. “Did you … did you just now take your gloves off, darling?”

 

Percy’s face turned a shade redder. “It … seemed appropriate to the gesture.”

 

Vex began giggling. “So very proper, aren’t we dear?” Percy huffed and dropped his grip. “Oh no, Percy!” Vex cried out, still giggling as he stuffed his hands back in his pockets. “Darling …”

 

Percy looked down his nose at her without a word. In response, Vex grabbed his arm and latched onto his side, ignoring his huff of annoyance. “I’m sorry, darling.”

 

“It would be more convincing, dear, if you were to stop laughing.” Vex merely giggled again.

 

“Oh!” she said suddenly, patting his arm with realization. “I need to finish the story.”

 

“Story?”

 

“About my mother teaching us Elvish. You see, it ended up being very helpful when we were sent off to Syngorn - we weren’t exactly fluent, but we weren’t completely lost, either. But Mother had mostly taught herself, remember? And we didn’t have any elves around growing up to use as an example.”

 

“You had a horrible accent, didn’t you?”

 

“The _worst_. I think our tutors spent the better part of two years hammering it out of us.”

 

“I suppose that’s only to be expected. I, for one, fear the day we meet any actual Celestial beings.”

 

“You have a bit of an accent in Elvish too, darling.”

 

“What? I do not.”

 

“It reminds me of the stable boys I used to talk with after my lessons.”

 

“You’re saying I talk like an Elvish stable boy??”

 

“It’s only a hint, dear - just a smidge.”

 

“You’re terrible, darling, you know that?”

 

“Yes, but you love it.”

 

“Gods save me, I do.”

 

She felt him stiffen as he realized what he’d said, but the flush of heat that raced through her at his words was interrupted as Trinket once more came barreling out of the woods.

 

“Hey buddy!” Vex said, a little too eagerly as she extricated herself from Percy’s side. “Did you have a good time playing? Ready to go back to the castle now?” Trinket huffed and sidled up to her, happily accepting a head scratching. “Let’s get you back and give you a nice brushing, how does that sound?”

 

They turned back the way they’d come, Trinket once more lumbering between them.

 

“Thank you,” Vex said, one hand idly stroking through the fur on Trinket’s back. “For your company.”

 

Percy smiled back at her and reached his own (still ungloved) hand out to sink into the bear’s fur as well. “You’re welcome. It was … nice. To get away.”

 

They continued a few more steps in silence. Trinket let out an impatient snuffle.

 

“I know, buddy, you want that brushing - as soon as we’re back, I promise.”

 

Trinket shook himself and made a low noise, then trotted ahead of them, apparently dissatisfied with their pace.

 

Vex hummed with amusement. “Not a very good chaperone after all then, eh?”

 

Percy shrugged, keeping his eyes on the path in front of them. He ran his thumb over the back of Vex’s hand, adjusting his grip from where they’d come together in the bear’s sudden absence.

 

“Dear,” he said with a smile, “I’m afraid I’d have to disagree.”


End file.
